1. Field of the Invention
The invention is a natural gas valve. The purpose of this valve is for controlling fluids flowing through pipelines to and from gas service meters. Valves commonly used at such service meters are quarter turn stops. These valves turn a quarter of a turn to cut off the passage lane to the flow of affluent and upon another quarter of a turn, they allow the affluent flow to resume once again. However, the suppliers of natural gas haven't any way of knowing when their supply of natural gas is being interrupted, which can result in costly fires. This especially is the case when substandard work has taken place once these gas valves are turned back on. My solution to this problem is my invention, the lockable locking valve. Its novelty is the choice it gives of allowing a gas company to know when their valve that's supplying natural gas is shut off by anyone other then their own mechanics not to be turned back on until they are notified; or, they can allow their valves to be turned off and on freely. My valve also solves another problem, safety testing of a service, and maintenance mechanics having to remove piping at gas service meters in order to perform air pressure test. Now these test can be performed by using the one-half inch opening made into the side of my valve. This opening has IPS pipe threads within and a plug screwed onto them. To test a system a person needs only to remove the plug and insert a pressure gauge. Testing then can be achieved by closing off all gas cocks within a system at the appliances and then inserting air into that system or turning just the gas back on. After testing the plug is then reinserted. In short this valve is a very good monitor for any natural gas services at the meter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most natural gas suppliers today use what is termed a lockable valve. There operation is a very simple one and these valves are also easy to produce. What the valve does is allow a supplier of natural gas commodities to place a lock in the outer structure of their valve. This lock prohibits the further movement of the valves inner plug. This plug which has a whole passing through it, when aligned with the flow lanes of the gas valve will allow gas to pass through that particular valve. But when a lock is placed in position on the outer body of these valves, it secures the inner plug in the off position after turning off the valve, and then placing the lock on the outside of the valve. The valve is also easy to produce. The reason is because, the plug which is turned to cut the flow of gas on or off is constructed in one piece. There is a tab located on the side of these valves with a hole through it. This tab is positioned so that when the valve is turned off that hole in this tab aligns with a hole in another tab which is fastened to the body of these valves. Thus by locking the plug securely to the body of the valve this renders the plug immovable. This type of valve is used worldwide on most natural gas meter installations.
Although numerous types of an automatic locking valve have been proposed and many of them patented, most of these valves are far to complicated to manufacture and after manufacturing have a competitive selling price. Another reason most gas suppliers have not made a change from what a great many people may view as old fashioned gas valves in the present market, with so many patents having been awarded on automatic locking valves too, is the other valves do not allow a choice. These valves automatically lock when turned off usually. They cannot be set not to lock at certain times alike my invention, and locking off, at other times. I believe a major issue in serving a natural gas customer from a utility company's viewpoint is when will a valve need to be locked, where and when. The valve that works to this satisfaction in criteria I feel is a logical replacement if gas suppliers contemplated a switch in their valves. One reason is if the natural gas companies switched to automatic locking valves they may find that because there is no indication these valves locked when they are turned off, it created massive, confusion. This would be due to the fact that in colder regions some people might die if they turned off their gas for some minor repairs; because, a gas company will not be able to respond to every call to turn gas back on whatever day that call comes in. This can result in many deaths in portions of the nation and world where the climate is very cold. If utility companies switch to any locking valve they must be able to control when they wanted this valve set to lock or not.
Only a valve which works both ways is the logical candidate as replacement. For example, in winter time utility companies could leave the valves in a neutral position in colder climates so if they were turned off, they would not lock. Then in spring to fall allow the valves to lock when turned off and maybe also when there is construction work taking place. Whenever set to lock, my lockable locking valve will protect the gas company against individuals doing unauthorized work. Along with being able to be set to lock once an unauthorized interruption takes place the valve's appearance gives a definite indication that there is something different about this valve. The barrel lock on the outer body should tend to warn most people not to disrupt gas services unless and emergency. Most people will wonder how gas is coming through the valve, and it is locked. This will prompt many people to call the gas company ahead before turning off the valve. If they do interrupt services and then attempt to restore them without success they are going to say, "I saw the lock, I should have not turned off my valve on my gas system until I checked with the gas department".
Finally another pertinent consideration of any invention, is can the invention be easily repaired? This is important because over the years there are as many varied maintenance problems which will occur as there are locking valves. This is due to the various inner working parts associated with locking valves. The lock is not a part of the valve. As a result, the valve would not have to be replaced if the lock hangs up, only the lock which can be cut away. My valve also solves the problem of having to dismantle natural gas pipelines in order to test piping facilities. My gas product has a 1/2" ips opening in its side, with a raised plug which can be easily removed which will allow a test gauge to be placed directly into the valve. As a result, you can test the piping system when the gas valve is in the off position. Here are examples of some other types of a locking valve.